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Imagine you as a kid. Spending the night at your best friend’s house. Your plan is to stay up all night playing video games and eating pizza. Come the morning…you want cereal….you want your beloved FRUIT LOOPS…..ya know?

Then your BF’s mom drops off the bowls…of FRUITY HOOPS.

Now, the kid in me back then…would have shouted– WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE???? And probably refused to eat them.

BUT now…I’m more refined….and have an elevated taste for the finer things…. : )

That being said – the reality is that the NAME brands….AREN”T always the BEST product anymore. These private and independent brands have really stepped-up their game and created products that rival and often BEAT the name you know.

Give them a chance…that’s all I am saying. You might discover a true classic.

ONE – I was just there….days before it closed and was told by the manager that “everything was fine” and it was a lease issue that would get worked out.

Well…worked out means CLOSED, I guess.

TWO- I can’t imagine they weren’t making money. When I was there the joint was PACKED. Everyone that came in was asking about the sign and were they closing. So there is a large Mazzio’s fanbase in Hewitt/Waco.

THREE- This was the closest location to me. That means I would drive FOUR hours (round trip) just to eat there. And I did. Many times.

FOUR – Mazzio’s is such a GREAT place. The food is awesome and the staff are pretty friendly (mostly-ha)…but Mazzio’s is NOT a well-known brand anywhere in the DFW area. That is criminal because in Oklahoma – they are everywhere. Sad that people here are clueless to the awesomesauce that is Mazzio’s.

I preach it here on this site, and to anyone I can find that will listen. I will continue…but now it’s just a little bit more difficult.

Well it seems this has been happening for years. The slow demise of a cool grocery store. The one-time favorite local and family owned chain has been sold off to FIESTA. So all remaining Minyards will convert to the FIESTA format in the upcoming weeks.

This story is of no interest to many of my readers I would wager. They don’t know the rich history of the company. They only know “Minyard” as that old-ass-busted-run-down-store my grandma loves. Well she loved it for a reason. It was family owned. It wasn’t fussy or pretentious. They sold things for decent prices and were known for their bakery and pharmacy. They were one of the first markets to offer things like fresh squeezed orange juice made daily in-store and other convenient items. It wasn’t fancy or slick or something that tried to be everything to everyone. It was a simple market.

Over the years that thinking somehow became “dated” and the Walmart effect all but destroyed local businesses. Take a look around your neighborhood these days. Chains and corporate clone stores are everywhere. Gone are the mom and pop shops. Nobody cares but that is an important part of local culture. Most would argue that this is just progress and only the strong survive. But I think losing these pieces of our past makes our future boring and less interesting. Sad.

One of the best local meal deals around DFW is/was at the Spaghetti Warehouse on Wednesdays. You could walk in and enjoy spaghetti, a salad, and some fantastic table bread for FIVE BUCKS.

Yeah. Five bucks. That is cheaper than most, if not all, combo meals at your favorite fast food joint. Again I say…FIVE BUCKS.

BUT…and there is always a “but” isn’t there? Spaghetti Warehouse has decided to raise the price to $5.95. Basically a dollar more for the same deal.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a great deal at SIX, but I just don’t love it like I did when it was FIVE. I don’t know why. I do know that I am not alone as the location I went to was PACKED (as it usually is on Wednesday…where everyone orders the spago) and I have been told by a couple of servers that they are nervous that this is gonna backfire. That in today’s economy people might reject that drastic an increase on everyone’s favorite special.

Ok so these have been out for awhile now. I also heard they spent a stupid amount of money on the research and development of this “Go Cup”.

And after eating my 2.99 snack meal or whatever I reached up to grab the cup and pitch it in the trash….and inspiration strikes.

This damn thing is actually handy! After cleaning it out – I found it will hold a phone and ipod…and about a bazillion other foods from other restaurants…and countless other things. It’s almost like having a free hand in the car.